In general, an air cleaner is an apparatus for discharging clean air after removing contaminants from indoor air containing fine dusts, various noxious gases, various germs, molds, viruses, etc., by using a purification medium. Such an air cleaner can be used through all seasons because it has various functions of removing unpleasant odors and small particles such as ticks, pollen and furs of pets, preventing an outbreak of disease due to an aerial infection, and so forth as well as its principal function of maintaining indoor air clean and pleasant.
Air cleaners can be largely classified into two types: dry type and wet type. Dry type air cleaners can be divided again into a filter type and an electric dust collection type.
Here, the dust collection type air cleaner employs no filter, so it has a merit in that there is no need to replace filters. However, if dusts are accumulated on an electric dust collecting plate, purifying efficiency of the air cleaner will be deteriorated, and dust removing capacity thereof will also be undermined.
As for the filter type air cleaner, on the other hand, since various fine particles are captured while air passes through filters, the filter type air cleaner exhibits a high purifying efficiency, and thus is adequate for use in a season in which yellow dust comes. However, since the filters need to be replaced periodically, maintenance cost is high.
Meanwhile, a wet type air cleaner employs a method for making floating particles in suctioned air deposited in water by allowing the suctioned air to contact water. Though the wet type air cleaner has not been commonly utilized yet, it has many advantages in that it does not requires a replacement of filters and generates little noise, while providing a humidifying function as well. Thus, for children, its use is preferred. However, when using the dry type air cleaner, water should be replaced or replenished, which would be rather troublesome.
FIG. 1 shows an exemple of a conventional wet type air cleaner, which is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-0205566 entitled “Air cleaner”.
As shown in FIG. 1, a water filter 12 is installed at an air suction inlet 11. The water filter 12 discharges water to wash away dusts or germs in air, while releasing minerals. A water tank 19 circulates water through the water filter 12. Also, a water tray 13 is disposed at an upper side of the water filter 12 and is connected to a water pump 22 via a water supply line 23. The water pump 22 is connected to the water tank 19 or a water supply unit 24 via a connection line 21 to pump up water into the water tray 13 of the water filter 12. A water supply valve 25 is installed on the connection line 21, and a controller 29 controls the water supply valve 25 to be opened or closed.
Moreover, a float switch 26 is provided in the water tank 19, and a water waste valve 27 is installed on a waste water exhaust line 28. The float switch 26 and the water waste valve 27 are also connected to the controller 29 electrically.
An air blowing fan 18 is installed on the side of a rear discharge port 16 of the water filter 12, and the fan 28 is rotated by a motor 17 to suck in air through the air inlet. The motor 17 is coupled to a motor driving circuit 30 connected with the controller 29.
Also, the water tray 13 and a collection tray 14 are disposed at upper and lower sides of the water filter 12, respectively, and a number of water plates 15 are slantingly laminated between the water tray 18 and the collection tray 14 at a preset interval.
The conventional air cleaner configured as described above removes noxious substances such as dusts or gems from the air by means of a water filter, and discharges minerals beneficial for human body.
However, in the conventional air cleaners, an air passage is formed such that air is made to pass through the filter into which flowing water is introduced. Therefore, the time period for the air to contact cleaning water is limited to a time period for the air to pass through the filter. As a result, the time during which the cleaning water adsorbs noxious substances from the air is not enough, so that the efficiency for purifying the air cannot be improved over a certain level.
Besides, since the conventional air cleaners has a complicated structure and a great number of components, time and costs for the fabrication of the air cleaner cannot be reduced, which is a limiting factor in reducing the price of the air cleaner.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, there is suggested a wet type air cleaner having a simple structure in which cleaning water is stored in a certain space, and a blower unit and a water spray unit are installed in a same space. One of such wet type air cleaners is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-334240, entitled “WET TYPE AIR CLEANER”.
The wet type air cleaner includes an air circulation passage through which air is introduced into the inside of the air cleaner and then is outputted to the outside after being purified. The air cleaner further includes a blower unit for allowing the air to be circulated through the air circulation passage and a spray unit for spraying the liquid into a spray space in the reservoir.
The blower unit includes a fan for suctioning the air into the spray space and a motor for driving the fan. The spray unit includes a pump for pumping up the liquid from the air cleaner and a nozzle for spraying the liquid into the spray space.
Further, the air supplied into the air circulation passage typically flows downward after being introduced into the air cleaner from upside, whereas the liquid is sprayed upward from downside. Therefore, the air introduced into the air cleaner is brought into contact with fine liquid particles sprayed by the nozzle, thereby allowing noxious substances in the air to be adsorbed by the liquid.
In the conventional wet type air cleaners as described above, however, the blower unit for circulating the indoor air and the spray unit for spraying the liquid are installed individually. Therefore, the number of components of the air cleaner cannot be reduced below a certain level.
Besides, in the conventional wet type air cleaner, droplets adsorbing fine dust are discharged outside together with the air, thereby resulting in poor purification efficiency and an unexpected high humidity. Moreover, the contact between the cleaning water and the air is insufficient, so that the purification ability thereof is deteriorated.